Nottingham Forest hit by ‘question mark’ over stadium plans
Nottingham Forest’s stadium plans are still viable even if they suffer relegation to the Championship this season.
That is according to football finance expert Dr Dan Plumley who has exclusively told Football Insider that Nottingham Forest could still feel the benefits of a bigger stadium in the second tier.
Nottingham Forest want to expand the City Ground to become a 52,000-seater capacity stadium, with work potentially commencing next summer.
However, Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 defeat to Fulham leaves the Tricky Trees just five points above the Premier League relegation zone.
‘No issue’ with City Ground redevelopment
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Plumley believes that despite crowds dropping, an expansion of the City Ground could still work in the Championship.
“I think you could still go through with the plans,” Plumley said.
“I think, you know, obviously, the financing of the stadium is always the question mark, but that tends to come from owners or corporate lenders of finance.
“So there’s no issue with the build still in that regard. I think that the challenge is that obviously the benefits are far better and are far more realised in the Premier League.
“You know, I’m not suggesting that, you know, the crowd wouldn’t stay strong in the Championship, but the reality is the crowd would dip a little bit.
“So, yeah, it’s more of a kind of filling the stadium aspect rather than actually, you know, not going through with the project. I think that’s probable even if they do go to the Championship.”
Evangelos Marinakis faces UEFA problem
Nottingham Forest may have an issue with multi-club ownership, after UEFA sent out a circular to clubs with a firm stance on the matter.
UEFA has told clubs it must comply with its rules by March 1st, and Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis also owns Greek side Olympiacos.
Nottingham Forest may qualify for European competition next season if they win the Europa League this campaign.